The Actual All-NBA Embarassment Team

A list of what can only cause embarrassment to their team, NBA, or in teaching a youngster about the game of basketball.

Coach—Mike D'Antoni

I am now changing my coach it was P.J. Carleismo but you can hardly blame him for the Warriors and Thunder lack of success since he did a decent job in Portland when he had some talent on his team.

So the new coach that I would put as the ultimate embarrassment is Mike D'Antoni. The reason being is he would much rather leave his job then do the right thing. Steve Kerr point blank asked him to have the Suns focus more defensively.

He basically told Kerr the General Manager of the Suns to **** off and let him run the team his own way. That didn't bode well for him because even if he hadn't taken the job with the Knicks he definitely would have been fired.

What makes D'Antoni an embarrassment is that each year in the playoffs the Suns had to play the San Antonio Spurs and the Suns never got passed them. The reason D'Antoni never changed the philosophy of the team. They took the same approach of no defense and no toughness. The Suns were a group of wimps just like their head coach.

If you don't believe me just take a look at the little brawl between Steve Nash and Robert Horry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0qe7PGCQvI Nash acting! Too bad he fooled his own teammates. Amare and Boris the two bozo's left the bench during an altercation which meant automatic suspension for both Amare and Boris.

Again the Suns took the personality of their whiny coach. It got them in trouble. Now maybe the Suns will take the personality of Terry Porter who will try to toughen the Suns up. The keyword here is try.

PG—Steve Nash

This guy may be a class act and never would be though of as an embarssment to his team, but one could argue that this player is an embarssment based on what young players are learning from him. That it is ok not to play defense as long as you're able to get it done offensively. This goes to the most overrated point guard the NBA has ever had.

Now, people want to say "Oh I hate Nash" and blah blah blah. I do not hate Nash.

He is a great passer, but that's about it. He isn't a solid ball handler especially if he's forced to slow down the pace of the game. The second part to Nash's game that is embarrassing is his defense.

I don't know of any point guard who has had such problems defending his man then Nash. His teammates a majority of a time have to make up for his deficiency on the defensive end.

This causes problems for the Suns as you can quite imagine because it means that Shaq or Amare is going to be forced to help out leaving either someone wide open or being forced to foul. This is one of the main reasons why the Suns will not ever win a championship with Nash running the team and also why Stoudemire averaged 4 fouls per game last year.

SG—Isaiah (JR) Rider

Now don't get me wrong, Rider was an immensely talented individual who at times showed the potential of being a superstar in the league with his scoring ability. The problem is he could never get his act together off the court.

He had multiple arrests for drug possession, was insubordinate with the Timberwolves, and was charged with fifth degree assault after kicking a woman at a sports bar.

He was ultimately traded to the Blazers for practically nothing. He was a little bit more well behaved in Portland, where he was suspended a total of 12 games during his three seasons as a Blazer. He also got in trouble for marijuana possession.

He finally got traded to Atlanta for Steve Smith.

He didn't do well in Atlanta and he asked for his release from the team, which of course was granted.

During the time in Atlanta he had problems with team officials, parking in reserved spots, and being fined for $200,000 for not attending drug treatment from the NBA. He finally relented to going though.

He did tone down his ways after playing for the Lakers.

He got a championship ring, but in the end it was his previous behavior that did not get him another contract with the Lakers. On a side note, he was one of the top reserves for the Lakers, but wasn't put on the playoff roster due to his play declining.

SF—Latrell Spreewell

As much as I hate Carlieismo, Spreewell should have been able to keep his anger in check and not go after his coach.

I do understand that Sprewell at the time felt disrespected because if I remember correctly Carleismo used the term "boy" towards him, which came across as derogatory term as well as criticising Sprewell in the process.

Spreewell was suspended for 82 games and the Warriors voided his contract. He went to arbitration and it eventually overturned the contract decision as well as lowering his suspension to a total of 68 games, which to this day is the longest suspension in NBA history.

He had some great years after the incident.

He resurrected his career with the New York Knicks and was eventually traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He did well with the T-Wolves until he wanted a contract extension. The T-Wolves offered a significantly less amount that he was currently making and this is where his famous quote of "I have a family to feed" came from.

After his contract was up, there were no teams were interested in signing him due to his agent stating that he wasn't going from $7 million to the league minimum of $1 million.

He had a great chance of winning a championship during the 2006 season due to interest from the Spurs and Mavericks, but ultimately nothing ever materialized due to the fact his agent said Spreewell wouldn't go down to $5 million for the mid-level exemption. In the beginning of the previous season, the Lakers were looking to sign him but of course contract terms were a source of disagreement.

PF—Dennis Rodman

He was definitely one of the best rebounders the league has ever seen. The issue with Rodman was him not being able to control his temper.

He liked getting under the skin of the opposition. Some of it went a little too far othertimes it was fun to watch the opposing player just never able to get into a rhythm.

His anger would prove to be his downfall. For he had headbutted Stacey King, John Stockton, a referee, and lastly kicked a photographer in the groin. Later on, he would be known for jawing at referees and quickly receiving technicals.

C—Erick Dampier

Now I'm not saying he did anything wrong. He's not a player who has been in trouble with the league or any team he's been on. What's embarrassing is the contract he was able to sign as a free agent with the Mavericks.

This is what makes the NBA sad. A player can have one good year just before they become a free agent and land a huge contract.

Dampier is the one that epitomizes this the most. In Dampier's first seven seasons with the Warriors, he averaged just over eight poitns per game, six rebounds per game, and just over a block per game.

In the year that he was able to earn a new contract, he had his best year in the NBA both in terms of scoring and rebounding. He averaged 12.3 points per game, 12 rebounds per game, and 1.9 blocks per game.

After that season, the Mavericks had a sign and trade deal in place to the Warriors where the Mavericks signed Dampier to a seven year $73 million contract.

After signing the contract with the Mavericks, Dampier reverted back to his ways with the Warriors. He's never averaged over double figures in points or rebounds. He's still a solid shot blocker but that's about it.